Indian Legends of California and the Southwest

Spider's Creation (Sia,
New Mexico)

Reading
time: 4 minutes. Word count: 800 words.

This New
Mexico creation story is about the powers of Spider, Sussistinnako, who is the
creator of the world.

In the beginning, long, long ago, there was but one being in
the lower world. This was the spider, Sussistinnako. At that time there were
no other insects, no birds, animals, or any other living creature.

The spider drew a line of meal from north to south and then
crossed it with another line running east and west. On each side of the first
line, north of the second, he placed two small parcels. They were precious but
no one knows what was in them except Spider. Then he sat down near the parcels
and began to sing. The music was low and sweet and the two parcels accompanied
him, by shaking like rattles. Then two women appeared, one from each parcel.

In a short time people appeared and began walking around. Then
animals, birds, and insects appeared, and the spider continued to sing until
his creation was complete.

But there was no light, and as there were many people, they
did not pass about much for fear of treading upon each other. The two women
first created were the mothers of all. One was named Utset and she was the
mother of all Indians. The other was Now-utset, and she was the mother of
all other nations.

While it was still dark, the spider divided the people
into clans, saying to some, "You are of the Corn clan, and you are the
first of all."
To others he said, "You belong to the Coyote clan." So he divided
them into their clans, the clans of the Bear, the Eagle, and other clans.

After Spider had nearly created the earth, Ha-arts, he thought
it would be well to have rain to water it, so he created the Cloud People, the
Lightning People, the Thunder People, and the Rainbow People, to work for the
people of Ha-arts, the earth. He divided this creation into six parts, and each
had its home in a spring in the heart of a great mountain upon whose summit
was a giant tree. One was in the spruce tree on the Mountain of the North; another
in the pine tree on the Mountain of the West; another in the oak tree on the
Mountain of the South; and another in the aspen tree on the Mountain of the
East; the fifth was on the cedar tree on the Mountain of the Zenith; and the
last in an oak on the Mountain of the Nadir.

The spider divided the world into three parts: Ha-arts, the
earth; Tinia, the middle plain; and Hu-wa-ka, the upper plain. Then the spider
gave to these People of the Clouds and to the rainbow, Tinia, the middle plain.

Now it was still dark, but the people of Ha-arts made houses
for themselves by digging in the rocks and the earth. They could not build houses
as they do now, because they could not see. In a short time Utset and Now-utset
talked much to each other, saying, "We will make light, that our people
may see. We cannot tell the people now, but to-morrow will be a good day and
the day after to-morrow will be a good day," meaning that their thoughts
were good. So they spoke with one tongue. They said, "Now all is covered
with darkness, but after a while we will have light."

Then these two mothers, being inspired by Sussistinnako, the
spider, made the sun from white shell, turkis, red stone, and abalone shell.
After making the sun, they carried him to the east and camped there, since there
were no houses. The next morning they climbed to the top of a high mountain
and dropped the sun down behind it. After a time he began to ascend. When the
people saw the light they were happy.

When the sun was far off, his face was blue; as he came nearer,
the face grew brighter. Yet they did not see the sun himself, but only a large
mask which covered his whole body.

The people saw that the world was large and the country beautiful.
When the two mothers returned to the village, they said to the people, "We
are the mothers of all."

The sun lighted the world during the day, but there was no
light at night. So the two mothers created the moon from a slightly black stone,
many kinds of yellow stone, turkis, and a red stone, that the world might be
lighted at night. But the moon travelled slowly and did not always give light.
Then the two mothers created the Star People and made their eyes of sparkling
white crystal that they might twinkle and brighten the world at night. When
the Star People lived in the lower world they were gathered into beautiful groups;
they were not scattered about as they are in the upper world.

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